This invention relates to traction devices for vehicle tires.
The problem of driving a vehicle in rough terrain, or on icy streets in the winter, or of being mired in snow, mud, sand, etc., has occasioned the development of a number of devices for increasing tire traction beyond what is provided by the rubber tread of a tire. Tire chains are perhaps the best known example. The inconvenience of attaching these is also well known.
Devices that, like the present invention, provide traction shoes across the tire tread for supplemental traction have also been used in the past; but most of these devices suffer from various limitations. Many of these devices are difficult to mount to a wheel, or cannot be mounted while the tire is actually mired in snow or sand.
Some of these prior art devices clamp on to the tire, which can be a somewhat insecure method of fastening the device to the wheel because of the flexing of the tire. Damage to the tire is also a possible result. Examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,485,544 and 2,597,458, among others.
Another similar type of traction device mounts to the wheel rather than on the tire. This method is believed to be preferable. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,777,928 and 3,935,891 show examples. Heretofore, however, there has not been a traction device providing traction shoes across the tire tread that mounts to the wheel quickly and easily and with a degree of convenience that might be desired by one mired in snow or the like.